{"id":4959,"date":"2018-01-18T10:00:35","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T10:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/?p=4959"},"modified":"2021-09-22T12:22:43","modified_gmt":"2021-09-22T11:22:43","slug":"whats-process-developing-best-interactive-touchscreen-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/whats-process-developing-best-interactive-touchscreen-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s the Process When Developing the Best Interactive Touchscreen Experiences?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thinking about developing an interactive <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/touchscreen-experiences\/\" target=\"_blank\">touchscreen experience<\/a> for your business? Perhaps you want a touchscreen experience for an event, exhibition or tradeshow or maybe a more permanent fixture, such as for a customer sales centre or marketing suite. But you want to know more about the process first? <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, if you\u2019re wondering how an interactive touchscreen specialist or developer can help you go from idea to finished experience &#8211; and who needs to be involved and when &#8211; this article will shed a bit more light on the subject. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The creation process may vary between different agencies or developers, but as touchscreen specialists ourselves, we\u2019re going to talk you through our own process, so you can have a better idea of what to expect.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But first\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What to consider first<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are a lot of factors to consider when creating an interactive touchscreen experience and ideally you should begin this process before you even get in touch with a specialist. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You should carefully pinpoint what you\u2019re looking to achieve with your touchscreen solution &#8211; what does success look for you, and think about how those goals are going to line up with those of your audience. For example, are you looking to spark interest in a new product, or capture leads at an event? <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regardless of what you need to achieve, begin by envisioning how you might go about creating an engaging and enjoyable experience that is going to attract then entice users into doing what you need them to do &#8211; what can you offer them in return for their efforts? <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You also need to consider the space your touchscreen is going into &#8211; will it fit, what kind of stand do you need, do you need a bespoke enclosure, along with the type of hardware you\u2019re going to need. Will there be internet in the location? Will you need signage? Will you need the touchscreen to interact with other things, such as lights, use object recognition or connect up to company data on servers or other websites?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some people aren\u2019t sure what\u2019s possible, and to what extent. If that sounds like you, the next step is to find an interactive touchscreen specialist or developer who can listen to your needs and tell you more about what\u2019s possible and give you some guidance. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>TIP:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> We\u2019d recommend you follow the steps in our recent blog: \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/blog\/5-steps-to-finding-the-best-interactive-touchscreen-developer-for-your-project\/\">5 Steps to Finding the Best Interactive Touchscreen Developer for Your Project<\/a>\u2019 to help you find the best interactive agency or specialist for the job. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. What\u2019s your objective?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before starting anything you need to outline your objectives and business case for the interactive. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are you ultimately trying to achieve? <\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">what does success look? <\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How will your experience benefit your company and your customers? <\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What actions do you want your audience take when using or after the experience? <\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What impression do you want to leave them with? <\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What information will they need in order to make an informed decision or do what you want them to do?<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are just a few of the questions you should be asking before starting to engage with a touchscreen specialist or even pulling content and ideas together.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019ve established these you can start to engage with some specialist developers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. Speak to 2 &#8211; 3 touchscreen specialists<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we say \u2018touchscreen specialists\u2019, we don\u2019t mean someone who\u2019s experienced in web development, software or hardware. We mean a company who specialises in developing interactive experiences &#8211; which are really quite different from the above. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is because an interactive touchscreen is a completely different user experience to something you\u2019d find on a website or app. There\u2019s so much more to consider when developing an interactive experience to ensure that it\u2019s going to be engaging and easy to use. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The larger size of the screen alone is an immediate game-changer, as it means the layout of the design, content and navigation need to be very different from what you\u2019d find on a website. It\u2019s also important to keep content dynamic and engaging for people. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll want an experience that reflects your brand in terms of design and language &#8211; which is so much better than using a slightly modified one-size-fits-all template that only partially does what you need, or just dropping your website on a touchscreen and letting people get on with it. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking to two or three touchscreen specialists will give you a better idea how each might handle your project. They should ask you all the right questions, and you should, in turn, have some questions of your own &#8211; you can check out what you should be asking in this blog:&nbsp; \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/blog\/5-steps-to-finding-the-best-interactive-touchscreen-developer-for-your-project\/\">5 Steps to Finding the Best Interactive Touchscreen Developer for Your Project<\/a>\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3. Request a proposal <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019ve discussed everything with your chosen touchscreen specialists, and you\u2019ve gone over the most important questions (including their experience, whether they can provide the hardware, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/blog\/long-will-interactive-touchscreen-solution-take-develop\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how long you can expect your solution to take<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), you should be feeling happy enough to request a proposal to see what they come up with. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proposal should include an outline quote, rough timescales for each stage of the process, and a range of examples to give you some ideas or inspiration for what could potentially be achieved with your experience. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From there, and together with your touchscreen specialist (assuming you\u2019re happy with what they come up with!), you should be able to refine&nbsp;the brief until you\u2019re 100% happy to go forward.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>TIP:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Don\u2019t forget to make it clear early on whether or not you want your touchscreen content to be updateable for future use! <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It could be that you receive two or three briefs, and you make your final decision based on what your developer or specialist comes back with &#8211; as well as how they respond to your ideas and questions. They should hopefully make this process as easy and stress-free as possible for you.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4. Sitemap, storyboard and design mock-ups<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Specialist appointed you can now start the process of developing the experience with them.&nbsp;Here are the steps we go through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your content and the order in which it is presented to your audience is the first thing you need to plan. In order to do this we create sitemaps for the interactive. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><b>sitemap<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> helps you design the overall structure of your experience, from the homepage through to the content pages. This is an important step as it allows you to check that all the information you want your audience to have access to has been accounted for and see where any structural or content gaps are. Sitemaps are commonly used to map out websites and you can create them in powerpoint or good old pencil and paper, the below image is an example of what one looks like.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019ve agreed your sitemap the next step is to create the storyboards. Think of the <\/span><b>storyboard <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as a basic \u2018black and white\u2019 prototype of your touchscreen experience &#8211; by focusing on functionality, rather than design, you can review the navigation, general layout and structure. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is there space for all of your content? Do you need any pop-up windows or hotspots? Can people navigate around easily? Sometimes these storyboards will be interactive so you will be able to click through them in a similar way to the final experience which will help you to get an idea on the overall interactive functionality.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/popcomms-interactive-wireframe-1-1024x640-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11175\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/popcomms-interactive-wireframe-1-1024x640-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/popcomms-interactive-wireframe-1-1024x640-1-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/popcomms-interactive-wireframe-1-1024x640-1-768x480.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They also help you decide on the user journey, the steps that a customer will take as they tap through your experience and explore your stories.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sitemaps will take a couple of days to produce, and storyboards will take roughly 1-2 weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Based on the storyboard and design they\u2019ve created, your specialist should provide design concepts for the overall look, feel and branding of the experience. They should look at the overall design and theme, along with any central visual devices to help tie the experience together.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the stage before your touchscreen experience goes to full design and development, so it\u2019s important to ensure they\u2019ve included everything you need before you give your approval to move onto the next step. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5. Full design and development <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019ve approved the initial mockups, storyboard, design visuals and content, it should be time to move into the final design and development of your interactive touchscreen experience.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During this time, your agency should keep you regularly updated on how your design is progressing, and allow for feedback at any time. The design stage should take around 1 &#8211; 2 weeks and will require one final sign-off before your interactive touchscreen goes into development.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Development of your fully working touchscreen experience is the most involved part of the process by far and can take anything from 4 &#8211; 8 weeks on average. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6. Final review and delivery<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once your interactive touchscreen experience is ready, your agency should allow plenty of time for testing and changes before your final approval. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depending on your experience, the delivery stage may involve sourcing the hardware (if that\u2019s something your specialist can help you with) and installation at your location, before loading the experience onto the hardware and testing everything onsite to ensure it\u2019s working. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You should allow 1 &#8211; 2 weeks for final review and delivery, as you\u2019ll want to be sure everything\u2019s working just right and that you\u2019re 100% happy with the end result of your investment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One final piece of advice<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most important thing we want to get across with this article is that the initial planning and project scope stages are by far the most important when it comes to developing an interactive touchscreen solution. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is where you identify your objectives and determine what success looks like, as well as identifying the messages and content to be included. If an agency doesn\u2019t talk about these points, then they may not have the experience necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s absolutely vital to get it right, otherwise it could lead to costly mistakes and revisions later on &#8211; or (worst case scenario) ultimately ending up with a solution that won\u2019t achieve what you need.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One example where a client needed a complex touchscreen experience with careful planning was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/case-studies\/gsma-interactive-hub\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the development of an interactive content-hub for GSMA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, they required an easy way for their staff to continually add content to the experience.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GSMA also needed to use the solution in multiple venues across the world, all with different WiFi connectivity. We needed to factor in the security of the experience, as well as analytics to see how users were reacting to the content and what was being viewed\/interacted with most.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conclusion<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We hope this blog has helped give you a better idea of the typical process involved when creating an interactive touchscreen experience. As we mentioned above, this will differ from agency to agency, so ensure they ask you the right questions early on in the process. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember, it\u2019s all about the audience and encouraging them to use it, then making it easy and enjoyable for them to find what they need, and take the action you want them to take. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you have a specific question about our touchscreen development process? If so, feel free to get in touch with us using the handy contact form below &#8211; we\u2019re always happy to answer any questions you might have! <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thinking about developing an interactive touchscreen experience for your business? Perhaps you want a touchscreen experience for an event, exhibition or tradeshow or maybe a more permanent fixture, such as for a customer sales centre or marketing suite. But you want to know more about the process first? So, if you\u2019re wondering how an interactive [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[113,123,98,136,106],"class_list":["post-4959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-touchscreens","tag-b2b-sales","tag-digital-sales-tool","tag-interactive-content","tag-interactive-sales-experiences","tag-tradeshow"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.popcomms.com\/pop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}